Kosher Press In Your Inbox

Five Palestinians wounded in clashes with IDF at suspected terrorist’s funeral

February 28, 2014

Five Palestinians were shot and wounded in clashes with the IDF in the West Bank, medics said, after the funeral of a suspected Palestinian terrorist, who was killed in Birzeit the previous day.

Clashes broke out between stone-throwing Palestinians and IDF soldiers at the Atara checkpoint near the town of Birzeit shortly after the funeral, and medics said five people suffered bullet wounds to the legs.

The army said some 200 Palestinians began throwing stones at the soldiers, who used riot dispersal means against them, including live fire against the main instigators.

The clashes came after Motazz Washaha was found dead in his home in Birzeit following a Thursday morning raid by the army, which said he was suspected of terror activity. Some 4,000 mourners attended Washaha’s funeral at Birzeit, north of the West Bank administrative center of Ramallah, calling on Palestinian factions to unite and avenge Washaha’s killing.

He was identified by neighbours as a member of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the movement’s red flags were visible at the funeral.

In Kafr Qaddum near Nablus, meanwhile, some 100 Palestinians were throwing stones at IDF soldiers who responded with crowd dispersal means. Two soldiers were lightly wounded, and were treated on site.

In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians after the weekly Friday prayers. Police arrested three Palestinians in Ras al-Amud, just outside the Old City, an army spokeswoman said.

Police had barred men under the age of 50 from attending prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Temple Mount, in order to prevent disturbance, and hundreds of Muslims prayed instead on streets adjacent to the Old City where the holy site is located.